Shadows of the Heart
by FoxwolfJackson
Summary: A new trainer embarking on his journey to be a master is detoured by power struggles from underground criminals, a mysterious and malevolent new pokemon, and the emotions of those around him.
1. I'm Not Late

Author's Notes: Sue me... I gave into my urges. Haha, don't worry... I'll still have Spellbinding Radiance going on. I have a guilty pleasure for wanting to write a pokemon fic for a VERY long time. I am hoping that this time it catches my attention. Enjoy this fic.

Also, if you see the name "Pavel" instead of "Felix"... that's my bad. His original name was Pavel, but I really didn't like it, so I changed it. However, it's so ingrained into my system that I'm having trouble converting to the new name. Sorry if there's anything in there that confuses you.

Oh, also, I DON'T OWN POKEMON! Insert cute smiley face here.

Chapter 1:

I'm not late!

"Felix Alexander Irving!"

A shrill voice rang from the kitchen of the house, down a hallway, through a bedroom door, and into the ear of a sleeping boy. This young man was thirteen years old, ready to go out on his adventure into the world of Pokemon. His adventures were ready to unfold before his very eyes.

The sun peeped gently into the young boy's room through a crack in the curtains. He squirmed slightly as he partially woke up, his consciousness just registering that a sliver of light shining directly on his eyes.

"Mmm..." he groaned in his sleep.

"Felix! Your breafast is ready! Felix! You're gonna be late to get your first Pokemon!"

These shrill words were lost upon the still half asleep boy. A thumping sound indicated that the door to his room flew open and hit the wall near the bed. Before Felix could realize what happened, the sliver of light that were playing with his eyelids transformed into a flood of sunlight striking his entire face.

Felix did what any person in that situation would have done in reaction. He pulled his covers over his head to block out the sunlight. Slowly, he snuggled with the blanket, trying to reclaim the sleep that was stolen from him.

"Felix! Get up!"

A light, quick whack to his thigh from a spatula awoke him with a start. Grumbling, he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes.

"Breakfast is ready, hon. You have two hours before you have to get to Professor Mahogany's lab for your first pokemon."

This statement seemed to have woken Felix completely from his fatigue. He ran to his kitchen to see the family's Kirlia standing at the table. The family all jokingly referred to the Kirlia as Felix's sister. The reason was because that within the same hour that Felix was born, Kirlia had hatched from her egg as a newborn Ralts.

"It looks like your sister wants some breakfast too," Felix's mother said in a light-hearted manner. Felix nodded and put some bacon and eggs onto a plate. Kirlia expressed happiness to Felix with a small sound and what could be perceived as a smile. She quickly, yet effectively began to eat by levitating the food to her mouth and carefully and delicately consuming the food.

"Felix, today you begin your journey as a pokemon master. You will become a great trainer. Make me proud, okay?" his mother encouraged

"I'll do my best, mom. Wish me good luck," Felix said with a smile.

"Do be careful. I have heard that bandits have been attacking people lately to steal pokemon," his mother warned him.

"I will, mother," Felix replied.

"Good. You should take your sister with you," his mother said in an off-hand manner.

"What?"

"You grew up with her. You have a bond with her that not many trainers could have. I think she would be great as a travel companion and as a member of your team."

"What will you do here at home?"

"I'm quite sure the pokemon I take care of in the day care will keep me company."

Felix nodded in reply. Having Kirlia come with him would be a great asset to his team. They knew each other so well to the point that she could even predict him without even using her psychic powers to glance through his thoughts. Felix knew that Kirlia were known as the emotion pokemon and that much of its power came from the cheerful spirit and energy its trainer had. A positive trainer would develop a powerful and strong Kirlia, which eventually would evolve into a powerful Gardevoir.

"I'm off, mother! I'll call you every time I reach a new town, okay?" Felix assured.

"Of course, honey. Make me proud!" his mother said back to him.

With their farewell, Felix picked up his backpack and walked out of the house. The wind was present but fairly weak, ruffling his jeans. His tan vest sat on top of his navy blue t-shirt. He took his red and blue baseball cap off for a few minutes to let his short, dark brown hair play in the breeze for a bit. He walked the familiar path to Professor Mahogany's laboratory.

Felix walked slowly down the path; he was early and he knew it. He wanted to be sure he got there early enough that most of the starter pokemon were not already taken. He had heard stories of trainers who woke up late and got nasty starter pokemon, including this one trainer over in Kanto who started with a particularly nasty Pikachu.

He arrived at the pokemon lab fifteen minutes ahead of time. Carefully, Felix walked to the door and knocked. He could feel the anticipation building inside him as he realized he was about to start his pokemon journey.

"Come in."

Felix carefully opened the door and walked into the lab. Professor Mahogany stood in front of a complicated device on the other end of the room. He smiled slightly at Felix as he observed the new trainer. Felix stood in front of the professor, a hopefully look in his eyes.

"Felix Irving, you are early," Professor Mahogany said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes, sir. I wanted to be sure that I would not be late," Felix replied.

"Eventually, you will find a happy medium."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Oh, don't mind me. Just the rambling of an old man."

The professor smiled slightly at Felix and motioned to the machine behind him. It was a rather intricate looking machine. The side facing Felix was full of switches, lights, knobs, and many other fancy mechanical interfaces and signals.

"Have you decided what pokemon do you want as a starter?" the professor asked.

"I actually want to have a Gastly."

"A... Gastly?"

"Yes."

Professor Mahogany found Felix's choice for a first pokemon strange, but nodded his head and turned to the machine. Felix had always wanted to have a Gengar; starting with Gastly was an easy choice.

"Yo, Professor Mahogany! Yer first newbie trainer here already? What pokemon ya need me to send ya?"

"A Gastly, if it is not too hard"

"On the contrary, it is quite easy! One Gastly, comin' yer way!"

Felix watched in amazement at the person's mysterious and varied accent and the light eminating from the machine. Within a few seconds, a pokeball appeared on a small pedastool behind a clear door near the middle of the machine. Professor Mahogany opened the door and pulled out the pokeball.

"This is your Gastly. He is a little mischevious as you may find out very soon. Still, he is a dependable pokemon. Talk to my assistant before you leave. He will give you the necessary items for going on your journey. Good luck, Felix," the professor said in a stately yet kind tone to the aspiring trainer.

Felix smiled and nodded at the professor. With a cheerful voice, he said, "Thank you professor."

With a smile and a wave, Felix walked quickly toward Mahogany's asstant near the door. Felix smiled at the assitant and waved to him.

"You are here bright and early, Felix. I heard you get your Gastly. It is an interesting choice; I hope you do well. Here is your items for traveling. There's five pokeballs, a few potions, and a map. Good luck and do your best!" the assistant rambled, holding the items out for Felix to take.

"Thank you!" Felix said quickly. As he took the items he ran out the door and into the air. It was time to start his Pokemon journey. Felix pulled out his map of the Zarith region and tried to find where he should go next.

"Let's see... ah, here's Petunia Town. Best bet would be to go north through Cloverfield Town. After that, I'll head east into Seabreeze City and my first gym leader battle," Felix mumbled to himself.

Felix tried to fold his map as he ran home, a task that was hindered by the occasional gust of wind blowing the map back open.

"Felix! You're home so soon?" his mother asked him as he opened the door.

"I'm here to pick up my sister!" he replied.

"Oh, she's in the living room. She seems particularly lively today! I think she's excited about traveling with you."

Felix nodded and walked briskly to the living room. He smiled at the Kirlia in the room, who seemed to be dancing ever so gracefully to the music playing from the radio. Felix paused for a second, enjoying the fluidity and grace that his sister figure had. As the song ended, Kirlia bounced over to Felix and smiled a wide, closed-eyed smile. She levitated a pokeball from his belt and held it in front of her. With a nod, she bumped the ball onto herself. In a flash of light, she disappeared into the pokeball as Felix's second pokemon.

Felix bent over to pick up the pokeball containing his Kirlia. Quickly, he headed back through the kitchen and out the front door to see his mother standing in the yard.

"Before you go, I wanted to ask if you have everything you need."

"Of course, mom. I do."

"Your pokemon are ready to go as well?"

With a smile, he let Kirlia and Gastly out. Gastly looked cautiously at its surroundings while Kirlia simply stood there in place, waiting for Felix to begin his journey.

"What do you think guys? You both ready for your journey?"

Gastly's answer was a simple one. He licked Felix right across the face. Felix fell to his knees, shivering and slightly paralyzed as Gastly began laughing. The laughing ceased when Kirlia launched a powerful confusion attack at Gastly, knocking him to the ground.

"I think that's a yes," Felix's mother said with a laugh. "Looks like your Gastly's a real joker. Better hope you can control him in battle."

"I... I... I will... t-t-try," Felix stuttered out as he fought the paralysis and stood up. He smiled at his mother shakily as the effects of the lick wore off. Gastly floated up off the ground; clearly it was annoyed at Kirlia. Felix nodded to his mother and waved in farewell. He made his way down the path to Cloverfield Town on route to his first gym battle. As he walked down his path, one excited thought ran through his mind.

"_Today begins my journey... to become a pokemon master!_"

Author's Notes: Yeah... I'm well aware this is generic for a beginning of a pokemon fic. I apologize in advance for that. I assure you, things will be more interesting as things go on. Just bear with me. I'm still trying to readjust to third-person writing. I've been doing first-person for way too long. -laughs-


	2. The First Battle

Chapter 2:

The First Battle!

Felix walked past the boundary of his hometown and made his way onto the path. It was a simple dirt road leading through the field outside of Petunia Town; it was a path that many new trainers embarked upon on their journey to try to become a pokemon master. As he traveled down the highly used path, he took in a deep breath and observed his surroundings. It was a beautiful day with the blue sky littered with a few wispy clouds here and there. The sun shone calmly upon Felix, its rays not beating down mercilessly upon the new trainer.

The rolling fields nearby were covered in tall grass. Felix could see many pokemon either jumping or flying out of the grass on occasion. He smiled to himself as he looked at the two pokeballs he had on his belt. It was so peaceful walking through the field and seeing nature at its finest. Or it would have been if there was no interruption.

"Hey, you're a pokemon trainer, aren't you?"

Felix looked to the voice to see what appeared to be a trainer. He had a red mohawk which forcibly reminded him of the broom his mother used. He was wearing a red t-shirt and a black leather jacket. In addition, he was wearing black jeans and sneakers. Clipped to his belt was one single pokeball.

"Yes, I am," Felix replied.

"Good, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle," he said.

"Okay, what's your name?"

"Vince Maxwell. I'm wanna be the very best like no one ever was. To catch 'em is my real test, to train them is my cause! I will travel across the land, searching far and wide. These pokemon to understand, the power that's inside."

"O...kay."

"Don't ask. My brother wrote that when he was younger and I unfortunately committed it to memory. Get your pokemon ready, I wanna see how good I am compared to you."

Upon that last comment, Felix was a little annoyed by how arrogant that comment seemed to be. Still, he decided to be fair and use his newer pokemon.

"Gastly, go!" Felix called out as he threw his pokeball.

"A Gastly as a starter? That's a rather interesting choice. Go, Slowpoke!" Vince called out.

Both pokemon stared at each other for a few seconds. One could feel the tension slowly rising between both trainers and both Pokemon. This was quickly cut by Gastly turning around and licking Felix on the face.

"Aaaauugghhhh!" Felix cried out as he fell to his knees, shivering. Gastly began to laugh at his trainer's misfortune, as did Slowpoke and Vince.

"Your Pokemon seems to be a mischevious one," Vince commented aloud. "Better get him under control, though, if you plan on taking the Pokemon League challenge."

"I... know..." Felix replied, his voice shaking. He slowly got up and braced himself.

"Let me begin. Slowpoke, water gun!" Vince called out. The Slowpoke fired a blast of water from its mouth at Gastly.

"Gastly, dodge it and use lick!"

Gastly dodged the blast of water... causing it to hit Felix. Gastly laughed at Felix for a brief second before rushing at Slowpoke to lick it.

"Slowpoke, dodge!"

As soon as Gastly came near Slowpoke with his tongue out, Slowpoke reacted. Its eyes turned blue and it levitated itself slightly off the ground. It floated out of the way of Gastly's lick, causing him to lick up a tongue full of dirt and mud.

"Nasty..." Felix and Vince both commented at the same time. Gastly sputtered for a second as Slowpoke fired a water gun at Gastly. The attack connected with Gastly, driving him right into the air. The water gun finished and Gastly began falling to the ground. With a great effort, Gastly righted himself back to normal.

"Gastly, Night Shade!"

"Slowpoke, finish it with confusion!"

Gastly's eyes started to glow a dark violet with a bright purple aura around them. Before he could launch the attack, Slowpoke's confusion attack slammed into him, throwing him back. He flew through the air a few yards before arcing downward and crashing into the ground.

"Good job, Slowpoke. Return."

"Gastly!" Felix ran over to the stunned Gastly. As Felix ran over, Gastly recovered and floated slowly into the air.

"Are you okay?" Felix asked Gastly. Gastly smiled and tried to lick Felix. Felix took a quick hop back and said with a smile, "Not this time. You're injured and slow."

Gastly looked down in defeat. It was only for a brief second though. He looked back up and smiled at Felix.

"That's a good, loyal pokemon. Not as strong as my Slowpoke, but I assume you just started yesterday or today."

"Yes, I started today. Thank you for the comments and the battle."

"Wait, hold on. You didn't touch my slowpoke at all."

Felix tightened his lip at that comment. That was a bit of an arrogant thing to say.

"What?"

"You have another pokemon. Why don't you try that one against Slowpoke. It's not fair to train one pokemon and not the other."

"I would prefer not to."

"Felix, try it. If I demolish that one too, then I do. If you beat me, then you beat me. It is better to try than to run away. Be confident in yourself and your abilities. Hold your head high, push forward, don't worry what others think, and have the power to back up your claims."

"I would prefer not to because I do not wish to seriously injure your Slowpoke."

"... when I said be confident, I didn't mean be arrogant."

"It's not boasting. It is the truth," Felix said carefully. He was beginning to doubt himself. Did Kirlia really have the power to defeat his Slowpoke?

"I see your confidence faltering. Try me. Let's get this battle started," Vince said.

"Okay... go, Kirlia!" Felix called out as he threw a pokeball. In a flash of light, his sister was standing before him.

"You have a Kirlia already?" Vince said in a surprised tone.

"Y-Yeah... am I not supposed to?"

"They're rare. You seem to already have a close bond already."

"She was the family pokemon. They all jokingly called her my sister because she hatched in the same hour I was born."

"Ah, and they let you have her for your journey?"

"She was and always has been very close to me. We even have gotten in trouble together with the occasional prank we pull on our friends."

"Interesting. You never battled with her before, have you?"

"Never. She was raised by my father before he went off on another pokemon journey. She was left for my brother but after a fight with both of my parents, he left without taking her."

"Well, you sure put a lot of confidence and positive thinking in her. It's time to see whether she responds to that. Ready? Slowpoke, let's start this with a water gun!"

"Kirlia, you use confusion to block the water gun! Overpower him!"

Slowpoke shot a concentrated stream of water from its mouth at Kirlia. It was to no avail as Kirlia closed her eyes and froze the water gun in mid air. In another pulse of psychic energy, Slowpoke was thrown backward quite a distance, slamming into the ground and unconscious.

"I... I'm sorry!" Felix hastily called out. Vince only started to laugh.

"You got a real champion there. My pokemon had a type resistance and your attack was also stopping the water gun. Talk about powerful! Return, Slowpoke."

Felix and Kirlia both smiled and rubbed the back of their heads at the same time at the compliment.

"Say, are you heading to Cloverfield Town? If we are, we could go together. There have been rumors of pokemon being robbed from some routes in the area lately, especially this one. I don't have a pokemon to defend myself right now."

"Sure thing. Your name was Vince, right?"

"Yeah, it is. Vince Maxwell... soon to be Ace Trainer! You know... it's a pity that the Zarith police force just can't keep up with the increase of crime here. Even more of a pity that the police forces of the other regions have a lot of trouble getting here. Most regions refuse to send officers over because they can barely spare any. Sinnoh is across that desert to the east, so sending officers here is expensive and takes a lot of time. Kanto and Johto are both across the ocean to the north, and both regions are very low on police already. Orre is to the east of here in the desert, between us and Sinnoh... but they are needing help themselves and need the help of Sinnoh's spare officers more than we do."

"But Hoenn helps us, right?"

"Yes, they do. Hoenn, which is west of here over the sea, is the only place able to spare any officers to us. Still, the fact remains that they're still dealing with radicals from Team Aqua and Team Magma. Because of those incidents, they cannot really assist us too much. We are a relatively new region anyway; people have only just moved into the area in the past sixty or so years."

"You know a lot," Felix said in amazement.

"Of course I do. You can't be a kickass trainer like me if you don't know about the history of your area and the gym leaders around here. They say that the Foxglove City gym leader is a powerful trainer from Johto and one of the only gym leaders to not follow the conventions set by most gym leaders," Vance replied.

"What conventions?" Felix asked.

"Most gym leaders have separate teams for trainers. If you have no badges, they have a relatively weak pokemon or two. For every badge you have, they have a different team to deal with you. That way a new trainer on the other side of the region can have as much chance beating a gym leader over there than you do, considering you may have four or five badges when you get there. The Foxglove City gym leader has one team and only one team. Very, very few trainers even complete the challenge in this area because she is so incredibly difficult to defeat, even if they save her for last. Many leave this region with their seven badges and go out to other regions instead," Vince said.

"How much do you know of this gym leader?"

"I'm afraid I know very little. I just know she starts off with a very fearsome Salamence," Vince admitted. "Not much is known about her team at all."

"I see. Well, Foxglove City is near Seabreeze City. Maybe I could make a detour there and see this gym leader in action."

"Prudent course of action. Very wise, actually," Vince said to himself.

"Well, let's head to Cloverfield Town before it gets dark," Felix said.

"Yeah. We'll heal our pokemon tonight and tomorrow we can train. I look forward to making Gastly as strong as my Slowpoke and my Slowpoke as strong as your Kirlia."

With that, the two nodded to each other and shook hands. Together, they traveled down the path toward the next town, not knowing what adventures lay in store for them.

Author's Notes: Don't be fooled by how deceptively simple and innocent this is starting off... it gets better.

Just an FYI... I'm going by the storyline of the Pokemon games and not the anime, although I will have some cameos from the anime in this fic. Specifically, I'm using the storyline of Pokemon Yellow (as opposed to Blue and Red) for various personal reasons.

It's been so long since I played DPP that I actually have trouble remembering what happened in there. I'd also like to say that I'm working on this entire new, made up area for the fic. If you have any suggestions on town names, gym leader suggestions, etc. then feel free to suggest away. I'll credit you if I use your ideas. The seventh and eighth gyms have already been figured out... I'm still working on a map of the area and the like.

Finally, I credit my friend IRL (who prefers to be called "Joa") for his OC into the fic. Also, a ponderism for you. How does a Slowpoke "dodge"?


	3. Gone!

Chapter 3:

Gone

"When did you start your journey?" Felix asked Vince.

"I started about two weeks ago. Slowpoke and I have been training ever since. I've been just hanging around and training, looking for wild pokemon and trainers to battle against to help toughen my Slowpoke."

"You're not going to head to the gym right away?" Felix asked.

"Nah, not yet. If I go right now, I might lose. I want to be sure without a shadow of a doubt that I will win if I go there."

"You should go now! I am," Felix remarked.

"With that Kirlia, I don't doubt your confidence or your chances for victory," Vince responded.

The pair of them walked down the route, chatting animatedly. For only having been a trainer for two weeks, Vince had many stories to tell about his adventures with his Slowpoke and himself.

"There was this one close battle with a Pikachu. Naturally he had a type advantage but that really is hardly a problem when you know what you're doing. See, all I had to do was use Slowpoke's Amnesia attack to raise his defense against electric attacks like from the Pikachu. Piece of cake. His Pikachu short-circuited after getting wet from a water gun and shocking itself..."

Felix listened to each story, absorbing all the observations and tactics his newfound friend was telling him. Whether they were tall tales or actual stories, Felix marveled at his traveling partner's intricate knowledge of so many pokemon and battle tactics with each of them.

"Oh, there was a battle with this one trainer. When I first saw her, I thought she was a joke and a clown. She was dressed in the most ridiculous of outfits. To date, she is the only other trainer to hand me a defeat in battle. I had my trusty slowpoke and was on my way to claim my eleventh straight victory when this girl walks by. I thought she was a circus clown until I saw she was holding a pokeball in her hand! I challenged her and she sent out a Shedinja. Those pokemon are extremely rare! Her pokemon, immovable as it was, took direct hits from water gun and confusion without even budging. She ordered one attack and knocked my Slowpoke out just as you did with your Kirlia. Since then, I have defeated thirty-eight trainers in a row. It would have been thirty-nine, until your Kirlia totally overwhelmed my Slowpoke."

"Why don't you catch a second pokemon?" Felix asked.

"Nothing I've seen has struck my fancy."

The two trainers soon arrived at Cloverfield Town. They handed their pokemon to the Nurse Joy in charge.

"What about Pokemon Contests?" Felix inquired of his new friend.

"What about 'em?"

"Are you going to do any?"

"Of course I am! My pokemon are not only going to be strong, they are going to be beautiful, brazen, flashy, and sophisticated."

"Then I guess I should do them too."

"Of course, Felix! Your Pokemon work hard for you. Why only let them bust their ass in battles with rival trainers and gym leaders? They deserve to show off all aspects of their power and pride."

"I never thought of it that way."

"'course you haven't. That's why I told you. It's my own little Vince-ology."

"Vince-ology?" Felix asked.

"Vince's philosophies of pokemon," he replied proudly, puffing his chest out proudly.

"Why not Vince-sophy," Felix asked.

"... what do you think of that name?" Vince asked.

"Sounds stupid," Felix admitted.

"We should return to the Pokemon Center. I do believe that our pokemon are finished healing," Vince stated.

"Yeah, okay. We should get them."

"Then I can begin training you before we part ways."

"Part ways?"

"I'm heading a different direction than you. I have some personal stuff to look at before I challenge the first gym."

"Oh... I see," Felix said. Well, so much for having a trainer as a traveling companion.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I'm sure we'll run into each other again in the future. If anything, I'd like to be your opponent in the Zarith Region Championship. If I lose, I want it to be with you."

"Why?" Felix asked.

"You know some of my trademarked Vince-ologies. That gives you a definite edge in battle. I'd feel safe knowing that the person I lost to was one of my students."

"Student?"

"You are educated in the Vince-ology way of thinking!" he said with a boastful smile.

"I... see," Felix said uncertainly.

"First thing's first. Get your Gastly and we are going to check what attacks it has."

The duo arrived back at the Pokemon Center, picked up their pokemon, and walked outside the city limits. Felix let out Gastly and was greeted with a customary lick to the face.

It took two minutes for Felix to get his legs steady enough to stand up straight again. He pulled out his pokedex and pointed it at Gastly. He selected the option to check what kind of attacks the pokemon knew.

"Gastly currently knows Lick--"

"Isn't that a shocker," Vince said with a smirk.

"--Hypnosis, Night Shade, and Shadow Ball."

"Well, there you go, Felix. Shadow Ball is way more powerful, especially on a pokemon like Gastly. You should start using that attack more."

"Uh, okay."

"Here, I'll send out Slowpoke and we can have a rematch."

As Vince said that, he tossed a pokeball that had his Slowpoke in it.

"Slow......... poke........... poke........... poke..........." the pokemon slowly said.

"Let's battle! Slowpoke, use Confusion!"

"Gastly, dodge and use Hypnosis."

Gastly flew into the air, out of the way of Slowpoke's confusion attack. It quickly countered with a hypnosis attack. Slowpoke struggled against the hypnosis but eventually fell prey to the attack and fell asleep.

"Gastly, keep using Shadow Ball over and over."

"Slowpoke! Wake up!"

Slowpoke did not respond to its trainer, nor did it respond when it was directly hit with three shadow balls in a row. The fourth one woke it up and it stood up as if it was barely registering in its mind that it was attacked.

"Gastly, go in and use Lick!"

"Slowpoke, Confusion!"

"Gastly, dodge and get that Lick attack in!"

"Slowpoke, dodge!"

"Don't let him make you lick the ground. Anticipate his movement!"

Slowpoke started to glow and float away but Gastly had already anticipated the movement and adjusted accordingly. Felix felt almost some sympathy for the Slowpoke as it fell prey to the Gastly's lick. The pokemon shuddered for a second before it fell over.

"... and that's how you win battles," Vince said with a sage-like nod. "You adapted to the situation and improvised your attacks."

"I took your advice," Felix admitted. Vince beamed brightly at Felix's admission.

"I respect ya, man. You're not like other trainers who are set in their ways and won't consider advice given to them by a fellow trainer. We do have to have a rematch one day soon. If you learn something on your travels, you should share what you learned with me. We'll call them Felix-ophies! You got a pokephone yet?"

"My family could not afford one for me."

"Well, that's too bad. Listen, I'll give you the number to mine. If you are ever near a phone or get your own pokephone, then give me a call. If I'm nearby, I'll head over to give you one hell of a rematch."

"Well, that's dandy..."

A voice from the bushes spoke up. A second later, a mysterious but suspicious person walked out, a weird device attached to his right arm.

"Who are you?" Felix asked.

"None of your business. I'm here to take your pokemon."

"I don't think so!" Felix called out. "Kirlia, go!"

Felix tossed the pokeball containing his Kirlia, which stood next to his Gastly. The two nodded to each other as if understanding the situation. It was apparent to the both of them that Felix was in a potentially dangerous situation.

"Oh, a Kirlia would make a fine snag. Go, Metagross and Bronzong!"

"Wh-what?!" Vince gasped out as the two pokemon appeared.

"Kirlia, Confusion! Gastly, Shadow Ball!"

"Metagross, Earthquake. Bronzong, Psychic that Gastly!" the man called out. A huge psychic blast of energy knocked Gastly to the ground as the ground shaking earthquake hit both of the pokemon. Both happened before either Gastly or Kirlia could launch an attack.

"Too easy... Snag Ball!" he cried out. He took the pokeball sitting in that strange device on his arm and threw it at Kirlia. It somehow defied the natural and physical order of pokeballs and managed to capture a pokemon that was already bound to another pokeball.

"Kirlia!" Felix cried out as the man snatched the pokeball from the air.

"Thank you for the pokemon and have a nice day!"

With a sweeping bow, he disappeared into the brush and ran off.

"No! No! Sis!"

Vince stood there silently. He looked down at the ground, upset at himself for not being able to help. What was a knocked out and paralyzed Slowpoke going to do against those high level pokemon? Still, he felt he should have done something.

Felix's face was unreadable, his expression did not betray any emotions of any sort at all.

"Felix... I... I'm sorry."

"It's... fine. I'll just become a very strong trainer... and I'll get her back!"

Vince saw it... in Felix's eyes. There was conviction and truth behind that statement, and it was at that point that the self-proclaimed future pokemon master knew that his friend, Felix, would become a powerful trainer someday...

Author's Notes: Woo-hoo, downtime at work well spent. Not a long chapter by any means, but I still getting the hang of writing this story. While working on this story, I found two things were happening. First, I had the urge to write with Spellbinding Radiance again. As you probably noticed, I put a chapter up earlier today. The second thing is that I'm actually enjoying this story. That means this story will be updated along with Spellbinding Radiance. Rejoice! I found a third-person story I actually enjoy writing! Only took me about six or seven years!


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